NOAA - National Weather Service - California Nevada River Forecast Center

MIDDLE FORK FEATHER RIVER - PORTOLA (MFTC1)

Latitude: 39.82º N	Longitude: 120.44º W	Elevation: 4850 Feet
Location: Plumas County in California		River Group: Lower Sacramento

Issuance Time:

May 17 2013 at 8:08 AM PDT

Next Issuance:

May 18 2013 at 9:00 AM PDT

Monitor Stage: 7.0 Feet

Flood Stage: 8.5 Feet

Historical Stage/Flow Data
Water Year	Peak Discharge (cfs)	Stage (feet)	Date
Most Recent 5 Years
2011	4,851	9.03	Mar 17, 2011
2010	774	4.88	Feb 28, 2010
2009	881	4.95	Mar 06, 2009
2008	859	5.70	Mar 16, 2008
2007	396	4.12	Feb 13, 2007
Historical High Stage/Flow Events (Period of Record - Oct 1968 to Present)
1969	7,640	10.62	Jan 21, 1969
1971	6,580	10.07	Mar 27, 1971
1980	5,690	9.56	Jan 14, 1980
1970	4,970	9.11	Jan 25, 1953
2011	4,851	9.03	Mar 17, 2011

Location Photographs
Upstream Photo	Gage House Photo	Downstream Photo

Google™ Locator Map

Official 7 Day National Weather Service Forecast (CAZ071)

Today: Partly cloudy. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 62 to 72. Light winds becoming northwest 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated showers in the evening and Then clear after midnight. Lows 31 to 41. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph shifting to the north around 10 mph after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs 61 to 71. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday Night: Clear. Lows 32 to 42. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

Monday: Sunny. Highs 68 to 78. East winds around 10 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 36 to 46.

Tuesday and Tuesday Night: Breezy. Partly cloudy. Highs 68 to 78. Lows 28 to 38.

Wednesday and Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Highs 56 to 66. Lows 28 to 38.

Thursday through Friday: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Highs 57 to 67. Lows 29 to 39.

Impacts - E19 Information
7.0 Feet	Monitor Stage. Approximately 2350 cfs. No flooding between Beckwourth and Sloat California.
7.5 Feet	Some areas of very minor out of bank flow in reach between Beckwourth and Sloat California. Approximately 2850 cfs.
8.0 Feet	Some areas of minor out of bank flow in reach between Beckwourth and Sloat California, including Portola. Approximately 3440 cfs.
8.5 Feet	Flood Stage. Some minor lowland flooding in reach between Beckwourth and Sloat California, including Portola. Approximately 4100 cfs.
9.0 Feet	Minor flooding of lowlands, rural roads, agricultural areas and some low structures between Beckwourth and Sloat California, including Portola. In Portola, water as high as 2 ft below CA Hwy 70 road surface. Water nearing Sleepy Pines Motel and just below propane tanks on Hwy 70. About 2 feet below foundations of Veterans Hall and low homes along river near Hwy 70. South end of West Street in Portola floods. Portion of CA Hwy 89 near Clio begins to flood. Approximately 4800 cfs. Like flood of 3/17/2011.
9.5 Feet	Moderate flooding of lowlands,roads and low-lying structures in reach from Beckwourth to Sloat California, including Portola. In Portola, Sleepy Pines Motel on CA Hwy 70 begins to experience some minor flooding. Water near bottom of large propane tanks along Hwy 70. South end of West Street floods, nearing lowest homes. River within about a foot of foundation of Veterans Hall and some low homes along river. CA Hwy 89 near Clio flooded. Approximately 5600 cfs, like flood of 1/14/1980.
10.0 Feet	Moderate flooding of lowlands, structures and roads from Beckwourth to Sloat California, including Portola. Sleepy Pines Motel and other low structures along river in Portola flood. Evacuation of homes on south end of West Street likely to begin. Sewage ponds in Portola may exceed capacity and may need to release to river. River near foundation of Veterans Hall in Portola. CA Hwy 89 near Clio flooded. Approximately 6450 cfs. Like flood of 3/27/1971.
10.5 Feet	Major (near record) flooding of lowlands, roads, railroads, homes, businesses and structures along river from Beckwourth to Sloat California, including Portola...with significant damage. Approximately 7400 cfs. Like record flood of January 21 1969 (7640 cfs).
11.0 Feet	Major (record) flooding of homes, businesses, structures, roads, railroads, bridges from Beckwourth to Sloat California, including Portola. Approximately 8400 cfs. Before gage record, this was exceeded during floods of 2/21/1927, 3/26/1928, 4/6/1952, 12/23/1955, 2/1/1963, 12/24/1964, 1/2/1997. In the 1/2/1997 flood, extensive damage (over $90 million in 1997 dollars) to homes, bridges, roads and railroads. Flooding caused a 50 ft section of CA Hwy 70 between Blairsden and Sloat to collapse.

Product Disclaimer

This river graphic is not intended to serve as a substitute for official flood watches, warnings, advisories, or statements issued by the NWS Reno Weather Forecast Office. Observations are preliminary and subject to change. River levels identified as "forecast" should be consistent with those contained in official NWS products. River levels identified as "guidance" have significant uncertainty due to future weather or reservoir regulation and are provided for planning purposes only.

Observed Data Credit
	Raw streamflow data is provided by the California Department of Water Resources. View CA DWR Data for this station location.